Random Thoughts

[germ-x]

Been busy this summer.  For those that commented my sons heart murmur the cardiologist called a Stills murmur.  It’s harmless.  Doctor was more concerned that we were going to restrict him physically because he might have a murmur.  Archie is off the walls and runs non stop all day long which is part of what shocked me that something might be up with his heart.  Definitely won’t be limiting his physical activity.  Thanks for the replies.

[AnAngryAmerican]

Failed GM Mike Tannenbaum said on ESPN this morning that “Josh McDaniels is going to be phenomenal with the Raiders.” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[champ11]

I'm starting to get excited about Broncos football again......it feels like a foreign feeling lmao. I feel like it is REALLY going to set back in once I watch week 1 and presumably see a solid football team again. 

[Cutler06]

Well, my daughter is getting married today, wish me luck. He's a great guy, even if he is a Red Wings fan, but I'm very excited. 

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

59 minutes ago, Cutler06 said:

Well, my daughter is getting married today, wish me luck. He's a great guy, even if he is a Red Wings fan, but I'm very excited. 

Tell him thanks for Helm lol

seriously though that’s awesome! Congrats to your family 

[AKRNA]

3 hours ago, Cutler06 said:

Well, my daughter is getting married today, wish me luck. He's a great guy, even if he is a Red Wings fan, but I'm very excited. 

Good luck! Marrying a son off is easy, marrying a daughter off is a potential minefield. I've got about one gazillion items on my list of things not to do. Pretty sure I did them all.

[Broncofan]

So the crowds are back…

 

Its refreshing esp when you compare it to other places like…

 

yikes poor Nikki.  

Edited July 28, 2022 by Broncofan
Oops wrong thread lol

[AnAngryAmerican]

2 hours ago, Broncofan said:

So the crowds are back…

 

Its refreshing esp when you compare it to other places like…

 

yikes poor Nikki.  

That’s sad for Nikki, who is a pros pro as a reporter. I wouldn’t want to cover that team. I still can’t believe the other owners haven’t tried to strong arm Snyder out. I get that billionaires don’t like to get in other billionaires business but if Jerry Richardson, can be forced out Snyder needs to be as well. 

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

6 games for Watson is literally the worst thing the NFL could have done.

I feel like it should have gone one of 2 ways (and there would have been angry people with either decision).

either wait until every thing has been settled and say “he was found not guilty but a court of law so we feel this was an attempt at extortion and we’re not going to punish him” or you go the Ray Rice route and make an example out of him. 
 

But by suspending him 6 games they are at the same time acknowledging that he sexually assaulted multiple women by punishing him while also completely downplaying it and saying that they don’t really care by suspending him essentially 1 quarter of football for every accuser.

[broncos67]

1 hour ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

6 games for Watson is literally the worst thing the NFL could have done.

I feel like it should have gone one of 2 ways (and there would have been angry people with either decision).

either wait until every thing has been settled and say “he was found not guilty but a court of law so we feel this was an attempt at extortion and we’re not going to punish him” or you go the Ray Rice route and make an example out of him. 
 

But by suspending him 6 games they are at the same time acknowledging that he sexually assaulted multiple women by punishing him while also completely downplaying it and saying that they don’t really care by suspending him essentially 1 quarter of football for every accuser.

It's even worse when you consider they suspended Ridley for a year for placing a legal $1500 bet on a game he wasn't active for. The NFL is a behemoth that is untouchable in a lot of ways, but their inability to figure anything out when it comes to player suspensions is a massive issue. 

[AnAngryAmerican]

I agree 6 games is horrible. 

Now, from what I understand, Goodell can take the recommendation or ignore it and issue a suspension of whatever length he chooses.

The NFLPA would of course then appeal and Watson might try to sue the NFL the way Brady did, which might be a PR headache the league would rather avoid - the issue of sex assault is likely to generate more attention by the casual, non sports-specific media than “deflate-gate” did.0

[broncos67]

1 hour ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

I agree 6 games is horrible. 

Now, from what I understand, Goodell can take the recommendation or ignore it and issue a suspension of whatever length he chooses.

The NFLPA would of course then appeal and Watson might try to sue the NFL the way Brady did, which might be a PR headache the league would rather avoid - the issue of sex assault is likely to generate more attention by the casual, non sports-specific media than “deflate-gate” did.0

I don't think Watson reasonably could win a case given Goodell's power as commissioner to enhance the suspension if he chooses based on additional circumstances.

I do, however, think that Ridley will/should see his suspension reduced. The optics are horrific and they need to save face somewhere, somehow. Unfortunately, I've already seen the "well Watson had a de facto suspension last season..." argument floating around which is complete BS. He should be suspended indefinitely, IMO. At least for the season. And in parallel, the NFL needs to re-assess some of the other suspensions handed out alongside the evaluation of this case and get them in order.

[AnAngryAmerican]

2 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

I don't think Watson reasonably could win a case given Goodell's power as commissioner to enhance the suspension if he chooses based on additional circumstances.

I do, however, think that Ridley will/should see his suspension reduced. The optics are horrific and they need to save face somewhere, somehow. Unfortunately, I've already seen the "well Watson had a de facto suspension last season..." argument floating around which is complete BS. He should be suspended indefinitely, IMO. At least for the season. And in parallel, the NFL needs to re-assess some of the other suspensions handed out alongside the evaluation of this case and get them in order.

Agreed. 

I don’t know why the NFL can’t just work out some sort of “mandatory minimum” suspension/fine policy (the fine being a percentage, not specific dollar figure, of the player’s current contract) which can be increased/decreased if there are aggravating/mitigating circumstances. E.G domestic violence is an X game suspension plus a $$% fine, DUI is X/$$%, gambling is X/$$%, etc.

With Watson’s contract also set in a way that this 6 game suspension is only going to cost him $245k, out of what $230M, the league will look even worse.

[Cutler06]

Just wanted to say thanks to you guys, the wedding went out with only a few minor obstacles (yes, my ex-wife was one of those obstacles LOL). Very grateful to all well-wisher, the BIGGEST of my bucket list dreams.

 

Can we go for #2 on that list, c'mon Mr. WILSON, bring another Lombardi to Denver !!

[Broncofan]

5 hours ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

6 games for Watson is literally the worst thing the NFL could have done.

I feel like it should have gone one of 2 ways (and there would have been angry people with either decision).

either wait until every thing has been settled and say “he was found not guilty but a court of law so we feel this was an attempt at extortion and we’re not going to punish him” or you go the Ray Rice route and make an example out of him. 
 

But by suspending him 6 games they are at the same time acknowledging that he sexually assaulted multiple women by punishing him while also completely downplaying it and saying that they don’t really care by suspending him essentially 1 quarter of football for every accuser.

 

3 hours ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

I agree 6 games is horrible. 

Now, from what I understand, Goodell can take the recommendation or ignore it and issue a suspension of whatever length he chooses.

The NFLPA would of course then appeal and Watson might try to sue the NFL the way Brady did, which might be a PR headache the league would rather avoid - the issue of sex assault is likely to generate more attention by the casual, non sports-specific media than “deflate-gate” did.0

 

1 hour ago, broncos67 said:

I don't think Watson reasonably could win a case given Goodell's power as commissioner to enhance the suspension if he chooses based on additional circumstances.

I do, however, think that Ridley will/should see his suspension reduced. The optics are horrific and they need to save face somewhere, somehow. Unfortunately, I've already seen the "well Watson had a de facto suspension last season..." argument floating around which is complete BS. He should be suspended indefinitely, IMO. At least for the season. And in parallel, the NFL needs to re-assess some of the other suspensions handed out alongside the evaluation of this case and get them in order.

 

3 hours ago, broncos67 said:

It's even worse when you consider they suspended Ridley for a year for placing a legal $1500 bet on a game he wasn't active for. The NFL is a behemoth that is untouchable in a lot of ways, but their inability to figure anything out when it comes to player suspensions is a massive issue. 

 

The issue with Watson is outlined really nicely in Robertson's 16-page report (I defer to the lawyers here, but Robertson's explanation is sadly well-reasoned given the NFL's actual policy):

 

 

The TL:DR points from the 16-page report:

-There's zero doubt Watson openly propositioned the women, even those who were completely legit MT's.    And yes, he exposed himself to same said legit MT's, who declined.  

-The key part is by the plaintiffs' own accounts, there was no force or threats - which doesn't make it felony-level assault, but misconduct - like exposing himself / solicitation.  It's indisputable that he did so with unwilling legit MT's, on multiple occasions (and why there are apology texts on record).  Distasteful, morally repugnant?   Absolutely.  Felony-level assault, though, no.  It's not rape, either.  And whether we like or not, society says there's a distinct line.   And because of this distinction, Robinson is going max-penalty for personal conduct/DV, but not past the line - in her own words, the policy the NFL sets the limits.    The take that the NFL policy is whack is 100% spot-on.   But working within the policy, Robinson's reasoning is hard to break apart.  

-Now, on the flip side - the entire PR campaign by Watson and CLE (by their silence) has been abhorrent.   From the day h signed with CLE,  Watson's said "I've done nothing wrong", "the women propositioned me" (which is refuted directly by his apology texts), and the biggest problem - "I'm not settling, as that's an admission of guilt" - only to settle all but 1 case in the last month.     If he had taken the legitimate approach of "I shouldn't have propositioned them, I thought extras were there but I was wrong, I've clearly got a problem" - there would still be the same penalties, but the public would have 1/10 the outrage they do today.  And that's entirely earned.

The NFL looks awful on 3 counts:

1.   By letting TB12 & NE restructure the contract to 1M back in the Deflategate era, they basically allowed CLE & Watson to do the same thing.  That avoided a 11.4M fine, instead going to just under 350K.    

 

2.  The NFL's own CBA and personal conduct policy specifically states that ownership / management is held to a higher standard than players.   Yet they let Robert Kraft walk.    That's part of what Robertson was referring to when she stated she'd go full max, but not above the prior penalties.

3.  As others have mentioned, the scale of punishment looks awful.  Not just Calvin Ridley, but players missing 4-6 games in the past for WEED.    Not even PED's.    It's just ridiculous.   Again, though - the policy itself is a major problem - but you can't change it now.   So, we're at 6 games, when we've seen weed, PED's, and yes, gambling when injured, get the same or more.

Now, CLE's FO deserves as much flak too - because they knew all this, and signed off on guaranteeing the 230M too, and providing protection for all of that $ post-suspension.   It's another terrible look PR wise.

Here's the thing though - sadly, talent will win out.   Tyreek Hill 2x has had pretty damning evidence he laid hands on a woman.   Big Ben's known details are ugly as hell.   Given Watson's a creep, but didn't go the force/violence route - it's distasteful for many, but I'm guessing it will be forgotten (not completely, this will stick to him like Hill & Big Ben PR-wise), but enough to have him play out his career like Hill & Big Ben, barring any more run-ins with the law.     

Finally, the CLE fanbase take that this is somehow unfairly being thrown at the org is pretty nuts.   If it was us, or New Orleans, or any other team that did the same, we'd be lambasted just as much.  Still, though - the timing isn't a coincidence.   With the MLB trade deadline tomorrow, and actual games starting this weekend, and daily news from Training Camp - this is designed to get other news to compete.   I'd suspect the 6 games will stick, and everyone will move on.  

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Broncofan